Are you a bit of a lone wolf? Do you like to get out on the streets and trails and just move forward, your thoughts wondering? Or is it more of a communal time for you, running along chatting with your friends? Or maybe you mix it up, running alone some days and with friends or a running club once a week?
I'm in that last group. During the week and on my travels to far away lands, I get to be by myself, dictating my own speed, following the path less traveled. On the weekends we have our "Men's Club" as we call it, with one of the guys even running barefoot with me a few kilometers each time.
But ever since embarking on this barefoot journey, I've been secretly yearning for one thing: to run barefoot with my wife. No, it's not some fetish thing. I'm talking about actual skin-to-the-pavement barefoot running with my Signfiicant Other (SO). Heck, I even wrote an email to the quintessential mom of the barefoot movement, Angie Bee, asking for her advice.
Why do I care about running barefoot with my wife? Couple reasons. First, she gets the same running pains that I used to get in shoes. Second, she and her mom are always talking about natural medicine, being "one" with nature, channeling your energy to join with some crazy yogi, or something. I typically either haven't paid attention or, cough, cough, have ridiculed these new-age ideas. Now I've changed my diet and run without shoes and talk about a connection to the earth. Her mother would be turning in her grave. Scratch that - I often forget her mother is still with us. Easy mistake.
I have good news. Last week during a short jog together, my wife pulled off her shoes and socks for the last 300 meters. And she loved it! Since then she has run four more times barefoot, each run successively longer. And she still loves it!
So I started thinking, "Hey, a whole pile of members of the Barefoot Runners Society would kill to find out how I convinced my spouse to run barefoot with me. I could probably charge good money for the secrets." Then I thought about this being an opportunity to do something selfless for my fellow man. So I've committed to share the secrets with all of you. If you feel the urge to send me money after reading these incredible secrets, I won't stop you.
Secret #1: Make empty promises. This has been effective for me in the past. This time it went something like this: Me: "If you finally run barefoot with me this afternoon, I'll take you to Barcelona for a long weekend." Her: "You already promised me that last Christmas in lieu of a present." Me: "But I'm serious this time." Her: "You're a jerk."
Secret #2: Taunting. There's a couple of angles for this one. First, there's the German-competitiveness angle: "Yeah, I don't think German feet were made to run on asphalt. You should probably stick with the cushy shoes." Or there's the sexist angle: "Women shouldn't be allowed to run barefoot anyway. Their feet are too delicate."
Secret #3: Barter. This one's easy. Just find something your SO has been begging you to do recently, but you just keep putting off. Like cleaning the garage. Or fixing that wiggly door handle. Or using the toilet brush more. Or identifying and removing the smelly thing from behind the freakin' couch. Either she takes off her shoes and runs with me, or the living room is still going to smell like that come Christmas time. (Closely related to Secret #4: Threats)
Secret #4: Threats. This almost worked. Me: "If you don't run barefoot with me, I'm going to cancel our ski trip." Her: "Good luck. I planned the whole trip. You don't even know where our hotel is. I'll just take the kids and you can stay here." Me: "Okay, I was kidding." Her: "Too late. I'm inviting my mom."
Secret #5: Embarass your SO. My wife hates being embarassed, which is why I take every opportunity to embarrass her. I prefer to dress down rather than up for nice events. I eat with my hands as frequently as possible, which for Germans ranks right up there with picking your nose in public. And I've perfected fart noises with my mouth. She knows if she doesn't do what I ask, it's gonna get ugly next time we're invited somewhere.
Secret #6: Withhold sex. Okay, this didn't work at all. Heck, I'm a man. Enough said.
I hope these secrets are helpful to you. You'll have to probably tweak these a little to fit your situation. Feel free to get creative. And best of luck to you both.
*Posted here at BRS and at www.runbarefooteurope.blogspot.com
I'm in that last group. During the week and on my travels to far away lands, I get to be by myself, dictating my own speed, following the path less traveled. On the weekends we have our "Men's Club" as we call it, with one of the guys even running barefoot with me a few kilometers each time.
But ever since embarking on this barefoot journey, I've been secretly yearning for one thing: to run barefoot with my wife. No, it's not some fetish thing. I'm talking about actual skin-to-the-pavement barefoot running with my Signfiicant Other (SO). Heck, I even wrote an email to the quintessential mom of the barefoot movement, Angie Bee, asking for her advice.
Why do I care about running barefoot with my wife? Couple reasons. First, she gets the same running pains that I used to get in shoes. Second, she and her mom are always talking about natural medicine, being "one" with nature, channeling your energy to join with some crazy yogi, or something. I typically either haven't paid attention or, cough, cough, have ridiculed these new-age ideas. Now I've changed my diet and run without shoes and talk about a connection to the earth. Her mother would be turning in her grave. Scratch that - I often forget her mother is still with us. Easy mistake.
I have good news. Last week during a short jog together, my wife pulled off her shoes and socks for the last 300 meters. And she loved it! Since then she has run four more times barefoot, each run successively longer. And she still loves it!
So I started thinking, "Hey, a whole pile of members of the Barefoot Runners Society would kill to find out how I convinced my spouse to run barefoot with me. I could probably charge good money for the secrets." Then I thought about this being an opportunity to do something selfless for my fellow man. So I've committed to share the secrets with all of you. If you feel the urge to send me money after reading these incredible secrets, I won't stop you.
Secret #1: Make empty promises. This has been effective for me in the past. This time it went something like this: Me: "If you finally run barefoot with me this afternoon, I'll take you to Barcelona for a long weekend." Her: "You already promised me that last Christmas in lieu of a present." Me: "But I'm serious this time." Her: "You're a jerk."
Secret #2: Taunting. There's a couple of angles for this one. First, there's the German-competitiveness angle: "Yeah, I don't think German feet were made to run on asphalt. You should probably stick with the cushy shoes." Or there's the sexist angle: "Women shouldn't be allowed to run barefoot anyway. Their feet are too delicate."
Secret #3: Barter. This one's easy. Just find something your SO has been begging you to do recently, but you just keep putting off. Like cleaning the garage. Or fixing that wiggly door handle. Or using the toilet brush more. Or identifying and removing the smelly thing from behind the freakin' couch. Either she takes off her shoes and runs with me, or the living room is still going to smell like that come Christmas time. (Closely related to Secret #4: Threats)
Secret #4: Threats. This almost worked. Me: "If you don't run barefoot with me, I'm going to cancel our ski trip." Her: "Good luck. I planned the whole trip. You don't even know where our hotel is. I'll just take the kids and you can stay here." Me: "Okay, I was kidding." Her: "Too late. I'm inviting my mom."
Secret #5: Embarass your SO. My wife hates being embarassed, which is why I take every opportunity to embarrass her. I prefer to dress down rather than up for nice events. I eat with my hands as frequently as possible, which for Germans ranks right up there with picking your nose in public. And I've perfected fart noises with my mouth. She knows if she doesn't do what I ask, it's gonna get ugly next time we're invited somewhere.
Secret #6: Withhold sex. Okay, this didn't work at all. Heck, I'm a man. Enough said.
I hope these secrets are helpful to you. You'll have to probably tweak these a little to fit your situation. Feel free to get creative. And best of luck to you both.
*Posted here at BRS and at www.runbarefooteurope.blogspot.com
